Google Maps for Jozi traffic

Drivers in Johannesburg, Pretoria and Cape Town will now be able to use Google Maps to avoid traffic congestion, according to a report.

Shannon Atherfold, spokeswoman for Google South Africa, told Beeld that the new traffic application had officially been launched on Wednesday, June 20, 2012.

Google Maps will now enable South African drivers to view the estimated time to reach their destinations, given traffic conditions.AVOID TRAFFIC, CONGESTION

Turning on the "Traffic" function of Google Maps will allow users to monitor heavy areas of traffic, and plan the best route to avoid congestion.

Roads with smoothly flowing traffic are shown in green, slightly slower routes are yellow, and heavy traffic areas are red.

Dave Barth, product manager at Google Maps, explained the technology on Google's official blog, saying that Google used GPS data of thousands of smartphone users, who had Google Maps installed on their phones, to gauge traffic conditions in real time.